Wednesday, April 4, 2012

David Banner has seen his share of ups and downs in the music biz. After running through deals with indie rap label Penalty and then Universal, the Mississippi rapper/producer has been inspired to do things a little differently for his next album.

"What I am trying to do is make the two most important parts of the musical equation ... important again: That's the artist and that's the fans," Banner told MTV News of what he dubs the 2M1 Movement.

On May 22, Banner will release Sex, Drugs and Video Games as a free download on LiveMixtapes.com and bypass traditional record-distribution methods by giving music directly to his fans. DB hopes to fund the LP — anchored by the singles "Believe" and "Let Me In" (featuring Tank) — with fan donations to his own website. "Corporate entities have made the artists and the fans feel like they're not important, where, without them, it all would fall," he explained.

Banner's goal is to get 2 million fans to support financially; judging from the album's high-profile guest list, it seems like it's worth the money. "You got 16 songs from everybody from Chris Brown to Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, A$AP Rocky, Big K.R.I.T., 2 Chainz, all of my people that's featured on it, and we got 16 videos," he said. "And I'm asking for is a minimum donation of $1 at DavidBanner.com."

In the end, Banner aims to build a reliable base of fans he can speak to directly, whether he is selling an album or rallying support for social issues. "People think it's about the money, but it's not. What it's about is creating a power structure of 2 million people that we keep activating," he explained.